


memories and battle scars

by Suicix



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Community: 1_million_words, Dialogue Heavy, Established Relationship, F/M, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Past Violence, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:44:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6070981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suicix/pseuds/Suicix
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>"I didn't think scars like that came from fist fights," Alicia says, and she's right.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	memories and battle scars

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompt "battle scars" on the hurt #5 card at One Million Words' February Bingo challenge.

Wade feels just about almost ready to drift off to sleep when the subject comes up. It’s quite a feat for him, considering that he’s sat leaning against the headboard rather than lying down and that the lamp on the bedside table’s still switched on, its dim glow golden.

Alicia’s got a hand on his arm, the touch relaxing. It’s probably why Wade’s finding it so easy to get anything close to sleeping, but then she says, “I’ve never noticed this before.”

“Hm?”

Wade opens his eyes – he’d hardly even closed them – and turns his head towards her.

“This scar.”

_Oh_. That. He never told her that story. Never told her much of his days spent bareknuckle fighting, really; it’s just something that gets acknowledged from time to time.

“Don’t know how I didn’t notice, though,” Alicia continues. “It’s huge.”

“It’s fading now. Used to be really obvious, even years after it happened.” He doesn’t know why he’s telling her that. Really, he’s just making it sound worse, like he got it because something terrible and traumatising happened to him.

Alicia frowns, but nods, considering. Her hand’s still on his arm.

“You don’t mind me touching it, right?” she asks, drawing her hand away immediately, just in case.

Wade shakes his head.

“Go ahead,” he says, lifting his arm so Alicia can get a better look. She hums and traces a finger down the scar. It tickles, just a little.

“How did you do it?”

Wade’s pretty sure she must already know at least some of the answer to that question.

“It was the fighting,” he tells her. “Y’know. All those years ago.”

Nothing, for a moment, and then:

“I didn’t think scars like that came from fist fights.”

It’s true and they both know it. Scars like that _don’t_ come from fist fights. This one came from the aftermath. Wade swallows, hard, and there’s a second where he almost considers not telling her the truth, but there’s no point in not doing that. It wouldn’t be like him, anyway.

“Well. It didn’t. I got stabbed afterwards.”

Alicia gasps, her grip on Wade’s arm tightening. She looks up at him, her eyes wide.

“You – you got stabbed?”

Wade nods, staying silent.

“How come you never told me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you,” he says. “Besides, it’s in the past now. It happened, and I’m fine, and there’s nothing anybody can do to change that.”

“Tell me, though. Tell me what happened.”

“It happened afterwards, like I said. I was in Hungary. Big fight, big money. I win and end up getting jumped in an alley on my way to the airport. Guy’s got a blade and he uses it.”

“Shit,” Alicia says after a moment, speechless bar just that one word. Then she’s nodding at him, expectant.

“He’s the one who ends up in hospital, though. I mean – I do too, but not until I’m back in the UK with the winnings he tried to take.”

“A real hero, then,” she says, and she’s smiling, and – it hurts.

Wade never thought of himself as a hero. He fought dirty and the money was dirty and really, back then, his whole life was headed someplace dark. He wouldn’t call any of it heroic.

“Something like that, I suppose,” he says eventually. “Still. Not exactly what you want to hear right before trying to get to sleep, is it?”

Alicia doesn’t answer, just shrugs and leans in to kiss him on the cheek before reaching out to the bedside table to switch off the light. Wade shifts so he’s lying down instead of sitting up, and Alicia curls in against him, her head on his chest.

The silence only lasts for a moment.

“You wouldn’t go back to that, would you?”

Wade wouldn’t. He doesn’t need to. He’s got a good life here, and there isn’t anything that looks like it’s going to throw it off course. He’s got Alicia, and she’s more than he could have ever hoped to ask for. He doesn’t need grit under his nails or blood on his hands or any of that money in his pockets.

“I’d fight if it meant fighting for you,” he says, because _that_ ’s true. That’s the only reason he thinks he’d ever have to take it up again. Not that he thinks anything’s going to actually happen to force him into that situation, but he’d do it if something did.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Of course I don’t. You could do it yourself, if you had to.” A pause. “I still would, though,” he says, quiet, and he means it.

**Author's Note:**

> [here](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdkeqkB7bE1qzx229o1_1280.jpg) is the scar in question, if you've never seen it before.


End file.
